Education Minister Erica Stanford has been damning in her assessment of last week's disastrous poll result for National, calling it a "bad week" for the party and for the caucus.
Speculation has been swirling about Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's leadership after the Taxpayers' Union Curia Poll result put National on 28.4 per cent, the party's lowest result since Luxon became leader.
Asked on Tuesday whether she was happy with the result, Stanford - often tipped as a possible leadership contender - said: "No, of course not".
"We've got to do a lot better as a party, all of us pull together, we've got to respect what voters are telling us," she said.
In addition to the horror poll, Luxon also struggled to articulate the government's position on the Iran conflict and flubbed his answers to questions on the same topic at his post-Cabinet press conference last week.
Asked whether it was a bad week for the prime minister, Stanford said the result reflected poorly on the party.
"I would say it's a bad week for the National Party and our caucus, and we've got to do better all of us together, pull together and remember that our focus is on the New Zealand people, and in my case, raising student achievement," Stanford said.
Any speculation she was vying for the top job was "reporters interviewing their own typewriters", Stanford said, adding that she supported the prime minister "100 percent".
On Tuesday afternoon, Stanford ruled out making any bids for the leadership.
"We have a leader, he's doing a really good job, and I am part of a high-performing team just doing my job, reforming the education system."
In a busy day in Parliament - when the Covid-19 inquiry report was released, National MP and Minister Shane Reti announced his retirement, and MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was reinstated to Te Pāti Māori by the High Court - National Party ministers and backbenchers were resolute in their support of the prime minister.
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said he had "no intentions" to run for the top job. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said he backed Luxon and looked forward to the coming election campaign.
Asked whether he wanted to be the leader, he repeatedly said he had "no intentions" to run for the top job but also refused to rule out a future bid.
"It's got nothing to do with me... I'm not here to answer questions about me running for the leadership, because, as you know, I support the prime minister."
Tim Costley, MP for Ōtaki, said that asking Luxon to step down, should his polling worsen, had never crossed his mind.
"We've got a strong caucus. We've got 49. We're looking great."
Banks Peninsula MP Vanessa Weenink said she was not concerned about her seat, which was one of the most marginal at the last election.
"I'm not worried about my job. I'm not worried about my seat. I'm worried about the country if we have an alternative government."
Takinini MP Rima Nakhle put her level of support for the prime minister at "123 percent", while Upper Harbour MP Cameron Brewer said the caucus was unified.
"We respect the guy, we're tight, we're disciplined, and you can see that with all our answers in the last 72 hours. You know, we actually just want to get on with the job."
The prime minister himself continued to brush off concerns about the poll, telling reporters on Tuesday that the party's caucus meeting would feature normal business, adding the team was "really united, really focused, really driven".
But Labour leader Chris Hipkins blasted National for getting itself into "one heck of a mess".
"They promised they were going to fix the economy, they've shrunk it. They promised they were going to get Kiwis into work, more Kiwis are unemployed now. They promised they were going to fix government debt, government debt's gone up. They promised they were going to fix the cost of living, the cost of living's got harder for New Zealand households.
"Whether it's Christopher Luxon or one of the other ministers who was involved in all of those decisions leading the National Party, the problem is they haven't done what they said they were going to do."
-By RNZ
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